Christmas with Noni and Papa

We spent four days at my parents house for Christmas this year! It was great. Naomi sees my parents every week but it was fun to be there for an extended stay and watch Noni, Papa, and Auntie M dote on her. We had our Swedish feast with the Haglund's this year. Naomi had a blast with her aunts, uncles, and cousins. We woke up to a phone call from Elder Fetzer at nine o'clock on Christmas morning. It was fun for all of us. Naomi didn't talk to him much because she was busy looking at all of the presents under the tree. She was convinced they were all packages of cookies. While Naomi was admiring all the cookies under the tree we had a chance to talk to Rich. He sounds great! He loves his companion, and he loves serving the Lord. We can't wait for him to come home in September! After Richards call we headed to church. Church with an 18 month old is tough. For the first time since Naomi was born Dustin and I were able to sit through sacrament meeting while my Dad took care of Naomi. It was wonderful. When we got home from church we changed into our pajamas and started opening presents. The only thing Naomi really cared about was the ribbons on the package and the giraffe that Auntie M gave her.

Later that evening we went to visit my Grandma Fetzer. She is 101 years old and absolutely wonderful! I cherish the time we get to spend with her and Naomi sure put a smile on her face. I am grateful for such a wonderful family that loves us unconditionally.

Good Idea.....or was it?

After finishing most of our Christmas shopping we realized that we had not involved Naomi in giving gifts to family members. I (Libby) bought some wood frames from the craft store and let Naomi go to town with the finger paints. Man did she go to town! Notice the hand print on the right side (your left) of her head and the tray of her highchair.

The frames turned out really cute. We included five pictures of Naomi and had her decorate the package with stickers once it was wrapped.

Zoo Lights

The Hogle Zoo puts on an amazing light display during the Christmas season. The whole zoo is lit up with different light displays. Naomi's favorite was the crocodile whose mouth moved and Santa in his sleigh. They also had live Reindeer, Dasher and Vixen to be precise. To make the light displays even more amazing you can purchase glasses (J is wearing them in the picture) that make all the lights look like snowflakes. It was really cold, but nothing could deter us from riding the carousel and seeing the lights. We were able to see a few of the animals and try out the fried s'mores. They sound way better than they taste so we ended up getting the kids fries instead. What a great night out with two great kids.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Halloween

Our Halloween Went a Little Something Like This:

costume

 

 Naomi painted our pumpkins

175 trick-or-treaters to our door in 1 hour and 45 minutes!

visiting Noni, Papa, and Auntie M

party

after party

 

and trick-or-treating with Megan

Park...we will miss you

We live across the street from a park and take full advantage of it. During the summer we were at the park at least twice a day. Naomi calls the park "slide" and loves the freedom of being able to walk around the big open space it has to offer. It is starting to get really chilly, so we went to the park to snap some pictures of Naomi. We will miss the park once the snow starts to fall but await warmer weather in a few months.

Guys vacation to Glacier National

Dustin, T and E went on a road trip to Glacier National Park and had a blast. Here are a few pictures from their adventure.

 D, E, and T

beautiful

too funny!

These are a few of Naomi's favorite things

Papa + the Zoo

Swimming Lessons

I signed Naomi up for swimming lessons and she LOVES it! When I called the company that provides swimming lessons at the Daybreak pool they asked about her current swimming skills. I told them them that she can blow bubbles and will go under the water for a few seconds. That qualified her to be in the Super Shrimp class. That's right, our little fish skipped the Pee Wee Plankton class and went straight to the Super Shrimps. (who comes up with these names?) She is in a class with three, four, and five year olds, and loves the attention she gets. She has learned how to kick on her stomach and back and do "freestyle" arms. Hooray for summer and most of all for swimming pools!

waiting to get in the pool

The Lot

We didn't make it to The Lot until July this year. July!!!! Regardless, we were excited to make our first trip to the cabin to enjoy some quiet time as a family. I gave Dustin a hammock for Father's day and he was excited to relax under the canopy of aspens with a good book. Naomi and I played outside and took a nice long nap.

so excited to see the horses!

Dustin reading in his hammock

playing in the grass

Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa H for a such a beautiful place to visit

4th of July

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

Naomi waving the flag at the Lehi Rodeo

DC with Auntie M

Auntie M, Naomi, and I went to DC to watch Papa sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. As soon as we sat down on the plane and Naomi realized that she was not going anywhere for a while, she started crying. Once we started Finding Nemo she calmed down. Three hours later we were happy to land. A big thank you to E and J for letting us stay at their house. It was a short trip but we were able to go to Georgetown, swim with E and the kids, meet Papa and Noni at that National Art Gallery, and go to Papa's performance at Wolftrap. The concert was really the highlight of the trip. Naomi was dancing and leading the music as the choir sang. It was fun to see the choir on tour. It really is different than what you see every Sunday. The choir even danced during some of the numbers! It surprised both Auntie M and myself. As usual, Alex Boye's solos were absolutely amazing. He even busted some awesome dance moves! The next morning we left early (5 am!) for the airport. We arrived home exhausted and excited to see Daddy. During the trip, Naomi started to call my phone Daddy so it was fun to see them reunite. Not only did Naomi and I get a fun vacation with Auntie M but Dustin installed wood floors on our main floor. Pictures coming soon....when my computer gets fixed.

Nursery

When I married Dustin I had no idea that he was good at do it yourself projects. He built our deck (with a lot of skepticism from me) and it turned out beautiful. He also built retention walls in front of our house (with a lot of skepticism from me) and it turned out wonderful. Are we seeing a pattern here? Yep, if you answered something about me not trusting, having faith in, or believing in Dustin or that Dustin is really good at home improvement you are right. I have come to realize that you don't have to be trained in construction to be able to do it, you just have to be willing to do the job right. In fact, when Dustin and I toured the Parade of  Homes I realized that he did an excellent job. In fact, a lot of his work was better than the work I was seeing in a lot of the homes. I have changed my thinking about DIY projects and am excited to help Dustin with some of our upcoming projects.

The most recent project has been Naomi's nursery. The wainscoting, painting, trim, and flooring are done! I couldn't be more proud of my amazing husband. He worked incredibly hard and learned how to do much of it as he went.
Here is what is left to do:
-crown molding
-painting the doors white
-buy a rug
-buy accessories
-paint the existing changing table
-make a pillow for the rocking chair
-hang artwork
-make curtains for window
-change out light fixture
-put outlet covers, switch plates, water main cover, and vent back on

before

after

ONE!

"Love it now, because she will grow up so fast!" After hearing this from countless friends, family, and complete strangers we still did not understand how fast she would grow up. Our baby is one, and she is thriving. This year has been a complete whirlwind and joy. We have absolutely loved watching Naomi grow and develop. She is a fun, energetic, smart baby with plenty of personality. Noni always says that she got in the personality line twice. She has brought joy to countless people, especially her Papa, Noni, and Auntie M.

We had a fun party for her and I was really excited for the smash cake. It totally backfired. This requires an explanation. When Naomi started eating solid foods we taught her to wipe her hands clean when she was done. Apparently, this created a child that hates having anything on her hands. Needless to say, she had no interest in touching the cake. We had to put her hands on the cake and she would promptly wipe them on her shirt.

A few days after her birthday party, we had her one year pictures taken. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about Naomi's photographer, April Bladh. Naomi loves her and in a little over half and hour we finished Naomi's photo shoot. Here are some of our favorites.

Ladybug Release

Every year Daybreak holds a ladybug release at one of it's community gardens. Although we don't have a garden this year, we went and picked up a few hundred ladybugs for Papa. These little critters eat the aphids that like to reside in gardens and flower beds so we figured they would be a perfect addition to Papa's garden. After we bought the ladybugs we couldn't resist letting Naomi play with a few of them. She loved watching them crawl on her hands, pants, and in the grass, and helped release them into Papa's garden a few days later.

Denver

When I don't post for a while, it seems really hard to write a post. It feels like really bad writers block that won't go away. However, I do remember Denver. We got a call that Dustin's uncle* who is fighting cancer was not doing well so the family decided to gather in Denver. I called Delta and booked a flight that was supposed to leave in three hours. We feverishly started packing and getting ready to leave. Not more than twenty minutes after I booked the flight, Delta called and told us our flight was canceled. Seriously?! It was already four o'clock in the afternoon so we bit the bullet and drove through the night. We arrived in Denver at six in the morning and got a three hour nap in before Naomi woke up for the day.

We spent a lot of time at the hospital visiting with family and also enjoyed time sight seeing in Denver. Here is our Denver adventure in pictures.

 

Denver Zoo

Denver Children's Museum

Downtown Aquarium

Wings Over Denver

Saying Goodbye to Family

*Dustin's uncle is doing well as he fights cancer. We are grateful for the Doctor's, Nurses, and other medical personnel who have and continue to take such good care of him.

Cloth Dipes

When I was pregnant with Naomi I became really interested in cloth diapering. I don't necessarily fall for the argument that it is better for the environment. With disposables you use up room in a landfill and with cloth diapers you use a lot of water. In reality, both leave a footprint. The money we would save was what peaked my interest. The last straw for me was about a month ago when I spent 50 dollars on a box of 160 diapers...50 dollars! What am I thinking spending 50 dollars a month on diapers? This began my search for cloth.

     There are so many types of cloth diapers out there. The information about what kind, style, and brand you should buy is overwhelming. Every time I would go online to research diapers, I would walk away more frustrated than satisfied. I finally settled on a brand and style I liked and fit Naomi well.

     I have now been cloth diapering for two weeks and I love it. It has taken Dustin some getting used to, but when I told him the money we will save will pay for a vacation he took right to it. We are thinking Chicago would be a fun getaway. In the meantime, Naomi's diaper rash is gone and we are finished spending money on diapers.

101 Years Young

Happy Birthday Grandma

Love-Dustin, Libby, and Naomi

59 Years Young

Happy Birthday Papa!

 

Love-Dustin, Libby, and Naomi

Dear Uncle Rico

 

Dear Uncle Rico-

Naomi absolutely LOVES chewy.  The same can't be said about Chewy loving Naomi, but that is easily solved with Cheerios. As soon as we get to Noni and Papa's house Naomi looks out the back window and starts talking to Chewy. We hope you like the video.

Naomi had her nine month checkup with Dr. Fox last week. Here are her stats:

-16 pounds 9 ounces

-27.75 inches long

and some thing she likes:

-clapping

-blowing raspberries

-books (especially books with babies or animals in them)

-Auntie M

-walks

-giving kisses

-doing a fish face (Auntie M taught her how)

-baths

We miss you more than you know. We are proud of you for serving a mission and are grateful you love Seattle. Hope you have a good week.

Love,

Libby, Dustin, and Naomi

Happy Birthday D!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

TO THE MOST WONDERFUL HUSBAND

A GIRL COULD ASK FOR.

Dustin's Gluten Free Birthday Cake

LOVE ALWAYS,

LIBBY